journal article·2019-02-13Open access

First-Principles Prediction of Skyrmionic Phase Behavior in GdFe2 Films Capped by 4d and 5d Transition Metals

Soyoung Jekal, Andreas Danilo, Dao Phuong, Xiao Zheng

Applied Sciences· Volume 9· Issue 4

Abstract

In atomic GdFe 2 films capped by 4d and 5d transition metals, we show that skyrmions with diameters smaller than 12 nm can emerge. The Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction (DMI), exchange energy, and the magnetocrystalline anisotropy (MCA) energy were investigated based on density functional theory. Since DMI and MCA are caused by spin–orbit coupling (SOC), they are increased with 5d capping layers which exhibit strong SOC strength. We discover a skyrmion phase by using atomistic spin dynamic simulations at small magnetic fields of ∼1 T. In addition, a ground state that a spin spiral phase is remained even at zero magnetic field for both films with 4d and 5d capping layers.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Magnetic properties of thin films · Magnetic and transport properties of perovskites and related materials · Physics of Superconductivity and Magnetism

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Laboratory of Metal Physics and Technology, Department of Materials, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland

Condensed Matter Theory Group, Paul Scherrer Institute, CH-5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland

Laboratory for Solid State Physics, Department of Physics, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland

Hefei National Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, Anhui, China

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